Dr Malcolm Thorburn

Honorary Fellow

Moray House School of Education and Sport, ISPEHS
University of Edinburgh

Tel: +44 (0)131 651 6655
Email: malcolm.thorburn@ed.ac.uk

Street: Moray House School of Education and Sport, SL
City: University of Edinburgh (Holyrood Campus)
Post code: EH8 8AQ

Biography

Background

After teaching extensively in secondary schools and occupying a number of curriculum development roles at local authority and national level, my Ph.D research focus was on the conceptual, pedagogical and assessment issues associated with examination awards in physical education. Part of the research involved analysing the coherence of the rationales advanced for examination awards as these were often based on a rather untested series of assumptions. This research triggered a wider interest in philosophical ideas in education and the extent to which coherent ideas and values underpin policy aspirations and pedagogical advice.

My current research is on reviewing experiential learning opportunities in outdoor learning and the nature of the integration between physical, mental, social and emotional wellbeing in physical education and education in general. Additionally, I have a research interest on the lives and careers of veteran teachers in terms of understanding better the factors influencing their resilience and commitment, and their views on professional development more widely.

I welcome the opportunity to discuss associated research ideas with students considering Ph.D awards and with colleagues interested in shared writing projects.

Qualifications

BEd (Hons) Physical Education (Jordanhill College; Scottish School of Physical Education)

MEd Education (Aberdeen University)
PhD Physical Education (University of Edinburgh)

Responsibilities & affiliations

I have peer reviewed papers for the following journals (among others).

British Educational Research Journal

Cambridge Journal of Education

Curriculum Journal

Educational Review

Environmental Education Research

European Physical Education Review

International Journal of Inclusive Education

Irish Educational Studies

Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning

Journal of Curriculum Studies

Journal of Education Policy

Journal of Pedagogy

Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy

Research Papers in Education

Scottish Educational Review

Sport, Education and Society

Teaching & PhD supervision

Undergraduate teaching

MA Physical Education

Research Methods
Research Dissertations
Curriculum and Pedagogy

Postgraduate teaching

MEd Educational Research

Research Methods

Areas of interest for supervision

I welcome the opportunity to discuss associated research ideas with students considering Ph.D awards.

Current PhD students supervised

Kotryna Grinkeviciutes- The effect of formal leadership on board on developing interpersonal skills among trainees during sail training

Research

Research summary

conceptions of well-being and their implications for education
values in education
knowledge representation in practical learning environments
the aims and intentions of physical education in schools
outdoor learning in schools
the careers of veteran teachers
curriculum change in physical education and health and wellbeing
John Dewey, reconstructing John Dewey

Publications

Can physical education be meaningful: The role of embodied subjectivity in enhancing self and social learning? (15 pages) 2 Jan 2021 In: Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical Education, vol. 12, pp. 53-66
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/25742981.2020.1844028
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Potentialities in health and physical education: Professional boundaries and change agendas 31 Dec 2020 In: The Curriculum Journal
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/curj.96
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print)
Emphasizing an embodied phenomenological sense of the self and the social in education (24 pages) 27 Jul 2020 In: British Journal of Educational Studies, pp. 1
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2020.1796923
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
A critical review of the Daily Mile programme as a contributor to lifelong physical activity (9 pages) 14 May 2020 In: International Journal of Lifelong Education
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2020.1765890
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Privatisation reforms and health work in schools: The end of the beginning (11 pages) 16 Feb 2020 In: Discourse
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2020.1722431
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Literature review (E-pub ahead of print)
Embodied experiences: Critical insights from Dewey for contemporary education (11 pages) 6 Jan 2020 In: Educational Research, pp. 1
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2019.1711437
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)
Understanding experience better in educational contexts: The phenomenology of embodied subjectivity. (12 pages) 5 Jul 2019 In: Cambridge Journal of Education, pp. 1-12
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2019.1632798
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print)
Creating thriving and sustainable futures in physical education, health and sport (8 pages) 22 May 2019 In: Sport, Education and Society, vol. 24, pp. 550-557
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2019.1610375
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Editorial (Published)
Sisyphus, crisis discourse, and the theory-practice gap in physical education: A polemic (12 pages) 8 May 2019 In: Sport, Education and Society, pp. 1-12
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2019.1614553
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print)
‘When an old cricketer leaves the crease’: Bittersweet reflections on examination awards in physical education (11 pages) 3 Apr 2019 In: Sport, Education and Society, vol. 24, pp. 1-11
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2017.1401533
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)

View all 128 publications on Research Explorer

This article was published on 13 Apr, 2024